Auto-buy author alert coming in! Jamie Pacton is an auto-buy author ever since The Life (and Medieval Times) of Kit Sweetly. So when I heard about Lucky Girl and the concept of winning the lottery I was sold! Not to mention, hosting the cover reveal was a HUGE blogger milestone. Keep reading this book review to find out my anticipated thoughts.
Summary
58,642,129. That’s how many dollars seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather just won in the lotto jackpot. It’s also about how many reasons she has for not coming forward to claim her prize.
Problem #1: Jane is still a minor, and if anyone discovers she bought the ticket underage, she’ll either have to forfeit the ticket, or worse . . .
Problem #2: Let her hoarder mother cash it. The last thing Jane’s mom needs is millions of dollars to buy more junk. Then . . .
Problem #3: Jane’s best friend, aspiring journalist Brandon Kim, declares on the news that he’s going to find the lucky winner. It’s one thing to keep her secret from the town — it’s another thing entirely to lie to her best friend. Especially when . . .
Problem #4: Jane’s ex-boyfriend, Holden, is suddenly back in her life, and he has big ideas about what he’d do with the prize money. As suspicion and jealousy turn neighbor against neighbor, and no good options for cashing the ticket come forward, Jane begins to wonder: Could this much money actually be a bad thing
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: panic attacks, anxiety
Lucky Girl lived up to all my expectations. Talk about a book that just hit all the right high notes. Pacton presents a character driven story revolving around a lottery win. It’s never simple though. The discussion about what money does to a person, what dreams and ambition can twist, is one of my favorite elements of Lucky Girl. Would we sacrifice a loved one, our principles, our friendships for money? The characters in Lucky Girl come alive.
They’re rich and, mostly, empathetic, appealing to these vulnerable places in our heart. Lucky Girl manages to be fast paced, without feeling rushed. Handling privilege and class, just like Pacton’s debut, Lucky Girl is thoughtful as Jane struggles to solve her lottery winning problem. In a world where our possessions tell a story, where the randomness of fate perplexes us, how long will our memory, our love, last? Money can destroy the people we think we know. And even ourselves. How do we balance looking towards the future and holding onto the past?
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Find Lucky Girl on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.